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In years gone by, Sir Hector Sants' leave of absence would probably have been attributed to “personal reasons”. It has never been fashionable to admit exhaustion.

But Barclays' decision to be honest about Sir Hector’s medical diagnosis of “exhaustion and stress” marks the latest step down an important road towards eradicating one of the last taboos in the City.

Stress and exhaustion, as well as issues such as depression, are hardly new pressures facing workers in the demanding financial sector. But the scale of the problem has always been difficult to measure.

In a Financial News survey of readers last month it became clear that many – particularly those at large banks – do not enjoy their job.

Of the 367 respondents, less than half of those who worked at organisations with more than 10,000 staff said they were happy in their roles. More than a quarter, or 28%, said they either did not really enjoy their job or hated it, compared with 13% and 11% in small and medium institutions, respectively.

The long-hours culture was cited as one reason affecting morale. Almost two in five (39%) of the respondents who identified themselves as working in corporate finance or sales and trading said they worked more than 60 hours a week, including 9% who said they did 80 to 100 hours a week. That would equate to between 12 and 20 hours per day from Monday through to Friday.

The lack of rest was also notable. Some 78% said they needed between six and eight hours’ sleep per night. However, 36% of respondents said they got six hours of sleep a night or less.

The high numbers suggest these are issues that need to be addressed and that they have not been effectively dealt with – no doubt due in part to the lack of openness and honesty in tackling them.

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In this context, Barclays’ announcement today involving such a high-profile name is all the more admirable – and, most importantly, it demonstrates a positive trend toward transparency in the City.

Sir Hector is not a one-off either. In 2011, Lloyds Banking Group chief executive António Horta-Osório signed off sick for about a month due to “extreme fatigue”.

One person with knowledge of the Barclays situation said there was “less stigma” attached to stress and fatigue than there used to be, hence the openness of the announcement.

For everyone’s sake, let’s hope such honesty continues and that, as a result, the issue won’t continue to go unaddressed.

--write to phodkinson@efinancialnews.com and follow on Twitter @MrPaulHod

Financial News is interested in reporting more on this issue. If you have any experiences of exhaustion, stress or depression within the financial services industry, please email phodkinson@efinancialnews.com or fsahloul@efinancialnews.com